


honestly, this might be the best policy

by lotts (LottieAnna)



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Cheetos as a metaphor, Curses, Fluff, M/M, Podfic Available
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-13
Updated: 2018-05-13
Packaged: 2019-05-06 01:14:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14631000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LottieAnna/pseuds/lotts
Summary: Tyson is cursed to tell the truth.... yeah.





	honestly, this might be the best policy

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sun_reads](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sun_reads/gifts).



> IF YOU FOUND THIS THROUGH GOOGLING, KNOW ANYONE MENTIONED IN THIS STORY PERSONALLY, OR ARE MENTIONED YOURSELF: please, please click away. This is a work of fiction and nothing written in this story is true. Any accurate information used in this story is publicly available information about public figures, the rest is made up, 100%.
> 
> thanks to sun-reads for this truly incredible prompt, and thanks to ang for the beta!!! 
> 
> i just read over sun-read's prompt as i was about to post this, and i realized they'd linked [this post](https://knifeshoeoreofight.tumblr.com/post/173077238544/im-pretty-sure-the-avs-have-had-that-curse) from another author, so I'm gonna drop that here. I wasn't familiar with the original fic at the time of writing this, i just saw truth curse Tyson and thought "TRUTH CURSE TYSON," but considering truth curse was an inspired prompt that was presented to me, it only seems fitting that i link [that fic](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14356278) here ("talk to me, baby," by CloudCover, sidgeno, ~3k). that being said, i didn't set this work in the same universe/necessarily structure this fic around the same magical system as that one. CloudCover probably put a thousand times more thought into their worldbuilding than i did into this. (again, i seriously was just working off the idea of truth curse tyson) basically i just want everyone to get credit for their hard work and don't wanna step on any toes! if there's an issue with the way i credited the various inspirations for this fic, please lmk! 
> 
> OKAY have fun everyone

It takes them a hot minute to realize that Tyson’s cursed, mostly because he’s already kind of a mess before the actual spell sinks in. 

“It’s a gradual curse,” the doctor says, trying to be diplomatic, even though Tyson’s tomato-colored and Nate’s already had to leave the room because he physically could not stop laughing. 

Internally, Gabe’s actually not doing much better, but he’s managing to hold himself together on the outside, because Tyson needs a friend right now who’s not openly amused, probably. 

“So I haven’t been saying everything that comes to mind?” Tyson says. 

“Probably not,” the doctor says. “Though it’s… pretty impressive that you progressed this far without anyone knowing.” 

“I’m a man of few boundaries,” Tyson says, and Gabe’s pretty sure that if Nate could hear them, he’d start laughing again. 

“Is there anything we can do?” Gabe asks. 

“You can leave,” Tyson says, interrupting whatever the doctor was going to say. “I mean, no offense, but I really cannot have you be the one to hear this crap.”

“Hey,” Gabe protests. “Nate’s the one who’s laughing.” 

“Let him laugh, I have no shame around him,” Tyson says. 

“And you have shame around me?” 

“I have, like, slivers of shame, around you,” Tyson says. “You know how when you eat Cheetos, and you end up with, like, Cheeto dust on your fingers? And once all the Cheetos are gone, there’s just the weird neon cheese at the bottom of the bag?” 

“Sure?” Gabe says. 

“So, like,” Tyson says, “think of the Cheetos as my dignity. When the bag is empty, you leave the scraps behind, but Nate licks it clean.” 

“And you’re saying I should go so Nate can… lick you?” Gabe says, because really, how did Tyson expect any of that to clarify anything.  

“Metaphorically,” Tyson says. “Also, I don’t have secrets around Nate. No matter what I blurt out, the worst thing he’s gonna do is laugh, y’know?” 

“I wouldn’t even do that,” Gabe says, frowning. “Let alone anything worse.” 

“Oh my god, you’re clearly not getting this,” Tyson says, shaking his head, more like he’s exasperated than anything else. “Please leave before I confess my undying love for you, alright?” 

“Alright,” Gabe says, still confused, but he walks out of the doctor’s office and into the hallway, anyway, to find Nate sitting in a chair by the door, still kind of losing his shit. 

He makes sure the door is closed behind him—quickly, for Tyson’s sake, because Gabe figures Nate’s laughter still probably won’t help savor the Cheeto crumbs of shame Tyson’s still got left—then kicks at his shin. “Stop being a dick, this is serious shit.” 

“I know, but you have to admit, it’s at least a little bit funny,” Nate says. 

“He said his self esteem is Cheeto crumbs, you can show a little more sympathy,” Gabe says. “He wants you in there, okay? Go be a friend.” 

“Can’t I be a friend by being normal?” Nate says. 

“Be a nicer version of normal,” Gabe says, putting on his captain voice, so Nate knows he means business. Which doesn’t totally work—Gabe knows that his captaincy is a rink-and-locker-room position only, and that this is definitely a friend-support situation, not a teammate-support one—but it does seem to mollify Nate, a little bit. 

At least, it mollifies him for a few minutes, but as Gabe sits in the hallway, he hears another peal of laughter from inside the doctor’s office a few minutes later. 

 

So, Gabe doesn’t exactly love that Tyson’s turning to Nate for support during this crisis, but he tries not to take it personally, and does his best to help, within reason. It’s a little bit like Nate’s the maid of honor, and Gabe’s, like, a bridesmaid, or something; he’s not the leader of the pack, but he’s… part of it. 

Not that Nate will actually be the maid of honor when Tyson gets married, or Gabe expects to be a bridesmaid—or, best man and groomsman, whatever—but the point is, it’s a metaphor, like the ones Tyson always tries to make. Gabe hasn’t actually devoted that much time to thinking about Tyson’s hypothetical wedding, or what role he may or may not play in it. 

“Hey, so,” Gabe says, the next time he sees Tyson at practice. “When are you seeing the cursebreakers?” 

“In a week, because life is unfair and destiny herself literally hates me,” Tyson answers cheerily. “Why?” 

“Well, I figured I’d ask if you could get out of social media duty until then, so you don’t have to bother the PR team yourself,” Gabe says. “Do you want me to?” 

It’s clearly the right thing to say, if the way Tyson perks up at it is anything to go by. “You’re the best,” Tyson says, and there’s a sincerity to it that makes Gabe smile, but also blush, if only a little. “Like, seriously. Great captain, great friend, great hair, great person. The single greatest person. Ever. In the universe.”

“Wow, don’t hold back,” Nate says, walking up behind Tyson and clapping him on the back, which is probably for the best, because Gabe’s maybe a little speechless from that compliment. He’s maybe gonna miss truth-Tyson, a little. He hopes he’s still mostly like this after they lift it. 

“I can’t, that’s the problem,” Tyson says. “I should probably leave, actually, this is about to get gushy.” 

“You heard the man, be mean to him so he doesn’t make a fool of himself,” Nate says to Gabe.

Gabe’s still trying to remember how to form words, so Tyson beats him to the quip. “Do not do that, you’re literally perfect, never change.” 

“Okay, yeah, we’re going,” Nate says, and then he nods at Gabe. “Later, Landy.” 

“Thanks again for helping keep cameras away from me,” Tyson says, lifting a hand. “Seriously, I could kiss you, right now.” 

“I appreciate the thought,” Gabe says, and he’s still smiling, but he also feels kind of— 

Like. He knows that Tyson’s only expressing his gratitude in weird, Tyson Barrie ways, but there’s something that kind of… hurts, a little, hearing him say those things like it’s a joke. 

Which is probably something Gabe should devote some serious thought to, but— 

Whatever. He doesn’t have the time, and Tyson doesn’t need him to start being weird about the things he says when he can’t even help the things he says. 

For now, he’ll stick to being as normal as possible, brushing off any potentially embarrassing things Tyson says more than usual, and once this curse is all taken care of, he can deal with himself. 

 

_ Gabe: ur in the clear 4 pr til the curse is gone :)  _

_ TBeauty: !!!!!!!  _

_ TBeauty: i take back every bad thing ive ever said about u  _

_ TBeauty: even ur forehead. its a great forehead. if i were there id kiss it.  _

_ TBeauty: im literally in love with u man  _

_ Gabe: Aw ty :) <3  _

_ TBeauty: <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <# <3 _

 

So, over the course of the next week, Tyson tells Gabe he loves him… a lot. 

Like. 

Tyson’s an affectionate guy, and Gabe knows it’s hard for teammates to express their gratitude, and maybe the curse is tapping into that, but honestly, it’s making Gabe’s life… a little hard. 

And it’s weird, too, because sometimes, after it happens, Tyson looks nervous for a second, or apologetic, and then Nate whisks him away before Gabe has a chance to figure out what it means.

But then Gabe can’t stop thinking about it, like, at  _ all,  _ and he wants to talk to Tyson, but boundaries are a thing that he doesn’t wanna cross, so mostly, he keeps his weird feelings to himself. 

 

Finally, the day of cursebreaking arrives, and Gabe and Nate, naturally, are the ones responsible for getting Tyson to the appointment. 

“I gotta say, it’s been great having an excuse to get the cameras away from me,” Tyson says. “I owe you a billion favors for that.” 

“Of course,” Gabe says. “Anything for you.” 

“I love you,” Tyson says sincerely, and Gabe feels this weird fluttering thing in his stomach, so he hardens his genuine grin into something more polite and perfunctory, but doesn’t let it fade. 

“You’re a great pal,” Gabe says, patting him on the arm. 

“Alright, TBear,” Nate says, yanking Tyson away, which is good, because Gabe might die if he has to look at Tyson’s overwhelmingly cute sincere face, but also not good, because Gabe likes Tyson’s overwhelmingly cute sincere face. Like, it’s worth a few seconds of not being able to breathe, honestly. 

Which is maybe excessive, but it’s not the first time Gabe’s had that thought. 

He really needs to figure out what’s up with that. 

But, in, like, twenty minutes. 

“Hey,” Nate says, interrupting Gabe’s train of thought, once Tyson’s in the examination room. “Thanks, y’know. For this week.” 

“You’ve been helping him more than I have,” Gabe says. 

“I know, but— he was worried, y’know? About what you’d say, but— you took it in stride. He appreciates it.” 

“It wasn’t that big a deal,” Gabe says. “Just, y’know. Being a good captain, and good friend, and all that.” 

“Sure, but he did have a few pretty major confessions,” Nate says. “Or, one really major confession, a few times.” 

“What?” Gabe says, confused. “No, he didn’t.” 

“Yes, he did,” Nate says. 

“What confession?” 

“I— are we talking about the same Tyson?” 

“Yeah,” Gabe says. “The one who’s just been, like, slightly nicer than usual about my forehead this week.” 

“You mean the one who has literally confessed to having a huge-ass crush on you? Multiple times?” 

And, okay, in hindsight, maybe Gabe shouldn’t have waited until the end of the week to sort himself out, because his heart sure does a thing at that, and it would be nice if he knew what exactly that thing is.

“He didn’t do that,” Gabe says, but his voice sounds weak, and, yeah, those are sweaty palms. 

“Yes, he did,” Nate says. “I saw him do it. A bunch of times.”

“But he wasn’t serious,” Gabe says. “That was just… Tyson.” 

“Yes, Tyson, who’s in love with you, which came up frequently, this week,” Nate says. “We both just thought you were being polite.” 

“No, I was just—” Gabe shakes his head, trying to clear his thoughts, which doesn’t really work. “So wait, you’re telling me that he kept saying he loves me, because he… like, actually  _ loves  _ me?” 

Nate stares at him, like he’s trying to figure out if Gabe is serious or not. “It’s a truth curse,” he says slowly. “It makes him tell the  _ truth. _ That’s sort of how the truth— uh, like. Works?”

“But that doesn’t make any sense,” Gabe says, which it doesn’t, except for how it also kind of does. 

But the making sense—  _ that  _ doesn’t make sense, because if this did make sense, Gabe wouldn’t be having such a hard time wrapping his head around the thought of this, unless— 

His train of thought is interrupted by the door opening, and Tyson walking into the hallway, beaming like he’s practically made of sunlight and doesn’t even know it. 

He’s, like. Beautiful? 

Which— this isn’t the first time Gabe’s thought that, but it is the first time he’s let himself acknowledge that he’s thinking it, and now, he’s starting to see why, because once you notice your friend has the most incredible smile on the face of the planet, it’s very hard to stop noticing. 

“Alright, all back to normal,” Tyson says, easy, and that’s maybe true for Tyson, but it’s the opposite of true for Gabe. 

“Sweet,” Nate says, who is either genuinely oblivious to Gabe’s Tyson-centric crisis, or brushing it off for Gabe’s sake. It’s probably the latter; Nate’s, like, a pretty great friend. 

 

So: 

Nate calls shotgun, and Tyson drives them home, and that’s fine, because Gabe can just sit in the back and look at the silhouette of Tyson’s face, or the way his Adam’s Apple moves when he laughs, but then google maps decides to punish Gabe personally and directs them to drop Nate off first, because it’s practical, driving-wise, even if it’s not practical Gabe-Landeskog-feelings-wise. 

It’s not like he’s totally a mess, honestly. He just— he’d like a little more time to process than the fifteen minutes he’s had. 

“Hey,” Tyson says, “thanks. For, like, this week— you let me hold on to my Cheeto dusting of dignity.” 

“I wish you’d stop saying that,” Gabe says. 

“Dude, I’ve been a mess for the last 27 years, and the last week, especially. Let me have this,” he says jovially, like he thinks Gabe’s in too-serious-captain mode and Tyson wants to take him down a notch, which is, admittedly, something Tyson does pretty well, when it’s necessary, but that’s not the issue here. 

“No, I’m serious,” Gabe says. “You’re more than just crumbs. You’re, like, a full bag of Cheetos.” 

“What kind?” Tyson asks, grinning a bit.  

“Puffs,” Gabe says, mostly because it’s the first kind of Cheeto he can think of that’s not ‘Flamin' Hot.’

“Is that a dig at my rockin’ dad bod?” 

It’s not, but Gabe does, in fact, think Tyson’s dad bod is pretty rockin’. “Nah,” he says. “They’re just my favorite.” 

This time, when Tyson laughs, it sounds a little forced. “That’s such a lame chirp.” 

“It’s not a chirp,” Gabe finds himself saying. “I just really like you, Tyson.” 

Slowly, the smile fades from Tyson’s lips. “Oh,” he says. “Uh, thanks?” 

“You’re welcome,” Gabe says, and his face is, like, burning. 

“Why are you bringing that up now?” Tyson asks. 

“I’m… not really sure,” Gabe says. “Nate says you’re in love with me?” 

Tyson stops the car. 

They’re at a stop sign, but still. Tyson’s a rolling stop kind of driver, not the kind of driver who stops to look over at his passenger with a strange, complicated expression on his face. 

Eventually, he redirects his eyes to the road, and starts the car again. “You seriously needed Nate to tell you that?” 

“Well, are you?” Gabe asks. 

“I thought we mutually agreed to not talk about that,” Tyson says. 

“I didn’t agree to anything.” 

“It was a silent agreement.” 

“Well, I didn’t get the memo,” Gabe says. “But— when you were saying it before. You were telling the truth?” 

“Truth curses make you do that,” Tyson says. 

“Well, I don’t know,” Gabe says. “I thought you were just being nice.” 

“Swedish people have a very different definition of nice,” Tyson says. “In North America, we just say ‘please’ and ‘thank you.’”

“You still haven’t told me whether or not you’re in love with me,” Gabe says. 

“Yes I did,” Tyson says. “More than once, if memory serves correctly.” 

“But you didn’t, like,  _ say it  _ say it,” Gabe says. 

“I said it how I said it,” Tyson says. “You’re the one who didn’t say it at all. Which is fine, by the way, but I’m just saying—” 

“I didn’t know you wanted me to say it back,” Gabe says. 

“Well, I did,” Tyson says.

“Alright,” Gabe says. “Then— I do.” 

This time, Tyson does a double take. “What?” 

“Like, I dunno, I love you too,” Gabe says. 

He watches as Tyson mouths the words  _ like, I dunno, I love you too,  _ to himself, and then says, “You mean, like— you love me? For real?” 

“Yep,” Gabe says, nodding awkwardly. He’s honestly only, like, 80% of the way through the realization, but he’s pretty sure he knows where it’s gonna end up. 

“You know I’m talking about  _ love- _ love,” Tyson says. “Feelings love, with like, holding hands, and kissing, and all that shit—” 

“Yeah, we’re on the same page with that,” Gabe says. 

“Just checking,” Tyson says. “So you, like— love me?” 

“If you love me, yeah,” Gabe says. 

“I totally do, just— what the fuck,” Tyson says. “What the  _ fuck,  _ Gabriel.” 

“What?” 

“Why didn’t you mention this earlier?” 

“I don’t know,” Gabe says. “It took a truth curse to get it out of you.” 

“Yeah, but I’m me, and you’re you,” Tyson says. 

“I don’t know what you mean by that.” 

“It’s like— I’m bad at things, you’re better,” Tyson says. “I don’t know. Feelings are weird.” 

“Yeah,” Gabe says. “But we’re stuck with them, so.” 

“I guess,” Tyson says, sounding resigned. “So, what do we do now. Make out?” 

“I think you should pull over first, but, yeah,” Gabe says, because, like,  _ yeah.  _

“Okay, no shit,” Tyson says, but he’s smiling as he pulls the car over to the side of the road. 

“Just checking,” Gabe says. “It’d suck to go through all that just to get in a tragic car accident.” 

“What a way to go, though,” Tyson says. 

Gabe’s trying to come up with a witty response to that, but then the car is stopped, and Tyson’s leaning across the gear shift, so he doesn’t bother, because kissing is probably a better use of his mouth than talking. 

**Author's Note:**

> "I used to wonder who was the bigger disaster, Gabe or Tyson, but then I realized that the real disaster was the friends we made along the way." -Nathan MacKinnon at their wedding, probably.
> 
> please let me know if there's anything in here i should warn for! i'm lottswrites on tumblr

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[podfic] honestly, this might be the best policy](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15632184) by [growlery](https://archiveofourown.org/users/growlery/pseuds/growlery)




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